Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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finished with 33 stops before a sea‑ son‑ending knee injury Nov. 22. Trumbetti was needed from day one at defensive end and saw extensive action behind junior Romeo Okwara while finishing with 18 stops (4.5 for loss). Morgan finished the regular sea‑ son seventh in tackles (43), with 40 of them coming in the five‑game No‑ vember swoon sans Joe Schmidt. He was in the embryonic stage of learn‑ ing college football, but his selection to the Sporting News Freshman All‑ America team made it four straight years the Irish defense had a repre‑ sentative on a Freshman All‑America unit. ✦ Difference Makers Revisited In August, we listed Notre Dame's 10 potential difference makers in 2014. That didn't necessarily mean the 10 best players, but rather how much might be on their shoulders. How did they fare in the regular season? 1. QB Everett Golson Stats: Completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 3,355 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Golson dazzled the nation through October with his dual-threat abilities, but committed 22 turnovers in the final nine games and the Irish went 4-5 in those contests. He ultimately was benched during a 49-14 blowout loss to archrival USC in the regular-season finale. 2. LB Jaylon Smith Stats: Led Notre Dame with 103 tackles (8.5 for loss), plus added three sacks, six quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. Smith might be the most athletic player on the Irish ros- ter, and it showed in at least portions of every game. He moved from an outside linebacker position to the inside, so much of 2014 was a learning process for him. Head coach Brian Kelly said Smith will remain inside in 2015. 3. DL Jarron Jones Stats: 40 tackles (7.5 for loss), 1.5 sacks, seven quarter- back hurries, one forced fumble and two blocked kicks. Jones' season ended in late November with a Lisfranc ligament tear in his foot, which could jeopardize his availability for spring practice. For most of 2014, Jones showed continued development as a competent replace- ment for Louis Nix III after emerging last November. 4. TE Ben Koyack Stats: 29 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Koyack's first of two touchdown receptions in 2014 was Senior tight end Ben Koyack produced mod- est numbers (29 catches for 305 yards and two scores), but he was asked to play virtually every meaningful offensive snap this fall. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA